As expected, UConn earns No. 1 seed, will face Idaho

STORRS, Conn. -- There was a sense of tranquility inside the UConn locker room as the field of 64 for the 2013 NCAA women's basketball tournament was unveiled on ESPN's national broadcast.

Such was not always the case in the basketball mecca that Storrs had become.

There was a feeling a breathless anticipation back in 1989 when UConn, fresh off winning its first Big East tournament, awaited to see who it would play in the opening round of the tournament. There was no major television production listing the tournament fields and no hoopla surrounding the event, in particular UConn's participation in March Madness.

With UConn selected to play in its 25th straight NCAA tournament as the top seed in the Bridgeport Region, Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma was able to reflect on the spectacle the women's tournament has become and the "anything other than a national championship is a disappointment" aura he has created with the Huskies.

"It was a little thing, us against LaSalle," Auriemma said. "It was a tiny little speck in the world of women's basketball. Up in Storrs, UConn is playing LaSalle. It meant nothing to anybody including the people in Connecticut, and to think 25 years later that it is national news who we are playing and where we are playing, not in anybody's wildest imagination could you have predicted that."

For the record, UConn's run of 25 straight NCAA tournament appearances trails only Tennessee, which has earned a berth for all 32 women's NCAA tournaments, and Stanford, which is making its 26th straight appearance.

The quest for an eighth national title will begin Saturday against Western Athletic Conference tournament champion Idaho (17-15) at approximately 1:30 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion. Either St. Joseph's (Pa.) or Vanderbilt will be waiting in the regional semifinal on Monday.

UConn earned a No. 1 seed for the seventh season in a row (16th time overall) and is on a collision course with Notre Dame if both were to make it to the Final Four.

For the second year in a row Kentucky is the No. 2 seed in UConn's region with North Carolina seeded third. Maryland is seeded fourth and Delaware, led by former UConn signee Elena Delle Donne, is the No. 6 seed.

"It is still exciting to see where we are going to be and what other teams are going to be in the other bracket, so it is always exciting to see all the potential matchups that could happen," UConn junior center Stefanie Dolson said. "It is an exciting time for any team."

Compared to the elation felt by a team like Idaho, making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1985, there was more of a subdued "been there, done that" aura surrounding the team's gathering after practice to watch the selection show.

Auriemma admits that he misses the pure joy that accompanied those early trips to the NCAA tournament.

"I miss a lot of that," Auriemma said. "I don't miss my paycheck back then, but I miss what winning meant back then and what doing things for the first time trying to prove yourself (meant). Challenging the established teams and trying to find a way to beat them, go to the Sweet 16 for the first time, how much we look forward to that, and when it did happen, we felt like a million bucks. Then, oh my God I hope we go to the Final Four, and when we did that it was like a dream come true and it was like nothing could ever be better than this. Now you go to the Final Four and you don't come back with a national championship and it is like devastating. You can't face anything. There was an awful lot to love back then. You have to love this, but you have to love it in a different way."

UConn senior guard Kelly Faris, battling the flu, was not at Monday's practice, but former Mercy High star Sadie Edwards, now at Blair Academy, took in the practice with her mother Lisa.